Pookas
History The pooka is one of the oldest kiths, shapeshifting creatures of Arcadia that were worshipped as gods. Their kith name came from the Irish Celts who venerated but feared them. They were spread through much of the world by the Sundering, but the rise of organized, monotheistic religions disrupted their power base among humans and they were reduced to demons in many cultures. The Shattering brought a division in the pooka, some taking up the Changeling Way but most fleeing into Dream-Burrows to hibernate or create their own pooka courts. Those that stayed behind were primarily domestic or semi-domestic animals like dogs, cats, rabbits and rats. Other affinites became more and more rare and then pooka all together. It struck Britain hard starting in the 1780s and lasting for two hundred years. Pooka were all but extinct from the Autumn World before the Resurgence. After The Resurgence As Glamour poured into the terrestrial world, it connected to the pooka Dream-burrows in a torrent that took many of them to bedlam where they savagely killed one another. Those that died reincarnated in the Autumn world giving an influx of new pooka, most of them more "harmless" creatures easily killed by pooka with predator kiths. But pooka of all affinities exploded into support of their fellow commoners during the Accordance war, earning the respect of their fellow kiths as warriors and scouts. They were not quick to put down their arms and trust the King, either in Concordia or Cymru. The Pooka Lifestyle Pooka's ability to shape-change even in their mortal seeming is unique among the kiths. Most have affinities with common animals but there's a growing number of exotics rejoinging kithain society. The epitome of diversity, every pooka is a unique personality but they tend to have definite characteristics of their animal affinities. Insect pooka are the most recent and exotic affinity to appear in the mortal world. All pooka reincarnate into mortal bodies and have a normal Chrysalis, after which they can shift into their affinites. Even before their Change, however, they have physical and personality traits that reflect their animal natures. The shapeshifting comes to them intuitively with their Chrysalis but for most pooka, clothing and other non-chimerical items do not shift with them. Its possible for pooka to cast cantrips while shapeshifted as animals but their bunks will need to be apporpriate for it. Pooka lie. Pooka laugh and prank, hiding their pain. They are easily dismissed and disbelieved. Evasive, subtle, and enigmatical, they must make a Willpower dif 8 to tell the whole truth. They can always slide some truth into the mixture of lies and misdirection. For each success, they can tell the whole truth for five minutes. They like to use a variety of methods to avoid answering questions honestly, especially a direct question, stalling, responding to questions with questions and a variety of other questions. When it comes to oaths, however, the Dreaming protects them from their frailty: their words will be true and as binding as they are to any other fae. Pooka have a love-hate relationship with humans, bitter towards the way they destroy the natural world and spread banality. Their endeavors to avoid them often cause them to hide in freeholds or the Dreaming itself until bedlam sets in. Rarity Factor p.32-33 of Kithbook Pooka covers Rarity Factors. Players do not need to spend free points to purchase it. However, the animals need to be native to Great Britain. Seelie vs Unseelie Unseelie pooka have as much pack mentality and loyalty to their own as Seelie but they are more feral, more cruel and likely to engage in sadistic or savage pleasures. They are driven by the animal inside, taking what they what when they want it. This feralness radiates out of them and creates a subtle intimidating vibe that makes even mice and rabbits fearsome. Affinity Pooka have an affinity with the Nature Realm, gaining a +1 on all cantrips affecting that realm. They also gain +1 die to any subterfuge or other deception roll. Birthrights *Shapechanging. Each pooka has an affinity with an animal of the player's choice. When the pooka is completely alone, she can shapechange into that animal (or back from it) in one turn. Shapechanging costs a point of Glamour, but reverting back is free. The pooka has all of the animal's natural abilities (claws, speed, leaping, venom.) *Confidant— Once during a conversation, a pooka may roll Perception + Empathy (or Subterfuge) to get a changeling or mortal to confess thier secrets; the difficulty is the target's Willpower. Each success allows a truthful answer to one personal question provided they take time, effort and decent roleplaying to coax out the information. This birthright functions even with mortals. A pooka can never botch an Empathy + Subterfuge roll. Frailty *Lies- Pooka are infamous for their elaborate lies. No matter how important an issue may be, a pooka must always mix in at least one lie. A Willpower roll (difficulty 8) is required for a pooka to tell the whole truth. go to the Changeling Main Page or go to the Kithain Page